Loss and Gain
by DoubleAgent
Summary: through a class project DHr get together, much to Harry and Ron's disgust. Could be a good story, you should read and find out.


Title: Loss and Gain Author: The artist formerly known as DoubleAgent, and then went back to DoubleAgent, so therefore the author is indeed DoubleAgent. Pairing:D/Hr Rating: No bad words, sex, minimal violence, not much crude humor, no scary images, disturbing visuals of nature, running or whatever else those crazy movie ratings people manage to come up with so-----G Disclaimer: I can't afford to go buy Bend It Like Beckham on DVD. Not much of a chance that I am JK Rowling a therefore own everything north of the equator. (I don't own these people. Don't sue)  
  
(Why does it look funny? I looks normal on word and has spaces and stuff!)  
  
()()()()()()()()()()()()  
  
It was simple. And pure. Complex. Secretive. Blissful. Indestructible. Wonderful. Warm. Full of loss.  
  
It was love with Draco Malfoy.  
  
It happened quickly. They were thrown together, and soon tense silences filled with angry glares, turned into a truce, turned into warm friendly talks (those civil, fun conversations surprised them the most), turned into warm kisses and secret glances. Love.  
  
Contrary to popular believe Draco Malfoy was not the embodiment of all that is evil. Up until his fifth year at Hogwarts Draco Malfoy had been not more than a snotty, too good for everyone else, muggle hating, rich, Dark Lord loving boy. A façade.  
  
Not many knew that he was actually a wonderful passionate person before sixth year. But when he returned to Hogwarts for his sixth year, after his father's imprisonment, he was changed.  
  
It wasn't a completely in your face, giving flowers to everyone, hugging complete strangers in the hallway, kind of change. It was slower. A wonderful event to watch.  
  
Harry and Ron suspected that at the beginning of the year when he refrained from talking with (or insulting) them altogether, that he had been planning a devious scheme to help the Dark Lord gain access to Hogwarts. But when he made attempts at civil conversation, and even began offering slight smiles to people in the hallway Harry and Ron were left baffled.  
  
It was around this time that she was thrown into a project with Draco.  
  
____________________________________________________________  
  
"And for this project I have put together the students who were most compatible with each other," said Professor McGonagall. Hermione looked at Harry and Ron who were glancing at the Slytherins nervously. She rolled her eyes. The hat had said that inter-house unity was to be the way we were supposed to go. And besides, what Slytherin would Hermione possibly be compatible with?  
  
"Weasley, Thomas." Ron and Dean shot relieved smiles at each other, and slapped hands. Hermione rolled my eyes again. McGonagall read more pairs from the list. And eventually she came to;  
  
"Potter, Brown." Harry turned to Ron and Hermione and mouthed "compatible"? Lavender came off as a little overly girly but she was very talented in Transfiguration. Hermione gave Harry a look. He shrugged and offered Lavender a smile. Lavender began to giggle and whisper excitedly to her desk mate. Now it was Harry's turn to roll his eyes.  
  
"Malfoy, Granger." Hermione was stunned. Harry and Ron shot death glares at Draco. Draco had been nicer to everyone, but Hermione he ignored completely. Hermione took a deep breath and calmed herself down. It was only one project.  
  
They simply decided to meet several times over the course of the next couple weeks to research, write, and practice dual transfiguration of an inanimate object to a: mouse, toad, or flying squirrel. Random Hogwarts professors.  
  
And the day's that followed went like so.  
  
Day 1: "Watch it mudblood. That was new ink!" "Sorry."  
  
Day 4: "Malfoy! I know you find me insufferable but we need to get this project done. I will not let my grades fail because you insist upon being a git! Can we just cut the name calling and crude remarks." "Fine."  
  
Day 5 and 6: Silence, except for the scratch of quills on parchment. Both ignoring the others presence.  
  
Day 7: "So Hermione." "What?" "So Hermione, is what I said." "I know. You called me Hermione. It was nice." "Well we did agree to be civil with one another, correct? I thought first names were a good first step." "I think your right, Draco." "I'm always right." "Still retaining that over inflated ego?" "Hey. Were making with being civil, correct? So no mean comments. Especially those that you hope will deflate my huge ego. It won't work." "Sure Draco."  
  
Day 10: "Ever watch Lord of the Rings? Brilliant stuff those Muggles come up with. Those theatres are quite classy. And that director did a brilliant job with Tolkien's work." "You've seen Lord of the Rings? Why Draco, I thought all that was Muggle was below you. It might dirty your highly expensive pair of dragon hide boots. And you know of Tolkien? He's a *muggle*." "I've changed Hermione." Whispered. "Yeah. You have."  
  
Day 12: "Seeing as you are no longer above Muggles, have you ventured into the world of Shakespeare?" "Not above Muggles? Really Hermione. I'm above everyone." "Still an egotistical git?" "Naturally. It's terribly hard to lose one's gityness over a short period of time. I thought you were smart Granger." He was joking. And happy. Smiling. She smiled back.  
  
Day 14: "So what do your Slytherin worshippers think of your time spent with me?"  
  
"Why there all insanely jealous. I get to spend my time with a beautiful witch." She blushed and muttered; "Not beautiful". She thought she heard him say "yeah you are" under his breath.  
  
"Mione, you need to get away from Malfoy. You are spending way to much time with him." "Yeah. Lavender and I are hardly meeting. We almost are finished with our project!" "Draco and I care about our grades! And besides, maybe you should get to know him. He's not evil you know." "Has he brainwashed you?" "Has he been hurting you, and your afraid of letting us know, because he'll hurt you again?" "You two are being awful!" She pulled her arm from Ron's grasp, leaving two very confused boys behind her.  
  
Day 15: "It's almost Christmas." "Yeah." "Little leprechauns will be giving out pots of gold." "Yeah." "Snape plans on serenading McGonagall." "Yeah." "Millicent plans on buying Dumbledore a stripper pole for Christmas." "Draco! Ew!" "Just trying to get you attention. Did you hear anything I said before?" "Sorry. No." "It's alright. Are Potter and Weasley giving you a hard time?" "Yeah." "What are they going on about now?" "You." "Why of course. I should have figured it out sooner. They are extremely jealous of all the time your spending with the sexiest man in all of Hogwarts." "Still have that ego I see." "But it got you smiling."  
  
Day 17: "Happy Christmas Eve eve, Hermione." "And to you too Draco." "I got you something." "I got something for you too." "Open yours first." Her gift was a necklace on which hung a single rose charm that emitted a faint warm glow. "This is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Thank you." "I thought it fit you." Draco opened his gift to reveal a necklace with a pendant of a dragon, made out of a stone of some kind, which swirled a misty blue gray. "Thank you." "I-I'm sorry if you don't like it. I thought it fitted you and-and the stone it uh matches your eyes and..." Draco set his hand upon Hermione's shaking one. "Hermione I said thank you. I love it. It's perfect." Draco was looking her straight in the eye and she felt her knees go weak. "Your welcome." Draco's face was inching toward her. "I think what I am about to do could be completely destructive... "...or perfect." And they kissed.  
  
Day 20: They kissed upon seeing each other again. "Hi." "Hi you." "Three days is too long." "I had to go see my mom. And you had to see your family." "I know. I just missed you." "I missed you too, if it means anything to you." "It does."  
  
Day 25: "By the end of tonight our project will be done." "No more excuses to see each other." Softly. "Yeah." "Do-do you wanna tell Potter and Weasley." "I think another week or so. They aren't going to take it well. Besides will your mother wig when she hears?"  
  
"Why my dear I believe you have been watching far too much Muggle television. And as far as my mother goes, she's always been opposed to Lucius' beliefs. She won't mind at all." I gave his hand a squeeze. "She sounds wonderful." "She is. And don't worry about Potter and Weasley. I'll beat them if they say or do one wrong thing." She gave him a look. "Or not."  
  
A week had turned into two and Hermione still hadn't managed to tell her best friends. After getting tired of sneaking glances at each other during classes Hermione and Draco met up in a secluded area of the library. "I couldn't wait to see you. You still haven't told them?" "I just can't. Not yet. What if they hate me?"  
  
"No one could hate you." And they kissed. And kissed. Neither new that very soon an end of one part of Hermione's life would be closing for a time So they continued to kiss.  
  
"What the hell?!?" Hands were pulling Draco off Hermione. A fist connected with a cheek. Hermione saw that her best friends were attacking the man she had grown to love. She screamed. "STOP IT!" They continued to (attempt to) hurt Draco. Hermione yelled once again for them to cease, tears streaming down her cheeks. They wouldn't stop. Draco managed to put Ron in a full body bind and Hermione did the same for Harry. After checking Draco over ("I'm fine") Hermione turned to the still forms of her best friends.  
  
"Ron, Harry. I'm not going to unbind you just yet. I need you to listen to me. Draco is a phenomenal person. Not at all like the guy you thought you knew. And were seeing each other. I was going to tell you, but I kept putting it off because I knew something like this would happen. But Draco is so wonderful, and you guys need to get to know him. You could be really great friends" Draco made a face. "You could. And I need you guys to be okay with this, because you're my best friends. And best friends always stick together right? Please understand." She and Draco stood up and unbound the boys. They immediately got up and shot filthy looks at Hermione and Draco.  
  
"Hermione," Harry said "His father is a bloody death eater. I don't know what you think your doing but you need to get away with him. He must have cursed you. He is going to hurt you."  
  
"Watch it Potter!"  
  
"Harry, Draco isn't going to hurt me. He won't. And you'd realize that to if you just got-"  
  
"To know him?" Cut in a hurt looking Ron. "That git has made our lives hell for the five years and now he's suddenly a saint!?"  
  
"Has he once insulted you this whole year Ron? Has he?"  
  
"Probably just a scheme to lure you into Voldermort's lair!" "You're being ridiculous Harry! You too Ron! He's changed and you know it!"  
  
"You're the one who has changed. And if-if you don't leave him within the next day we will no longer be a part of your life. Right Ron?"  
  
Ron look determined. "Right."  
  
"You mean that? Your going to throw away all those years?"  
  
"Only if you don't leave him. We know whose right here Hermione. This is for your own good."  
  
"I also know whose right. So goodbye Harry, Ron."  
  
Harry and Ron both looked at Hermione shocked and regretful before uttering "goodbye" turning and leaving. Hermione collapsed onto the floor sobbing. Draco scooped her up and rocked her gently back and forth. "You choose me?" Sniffle. "Duh." Whispered. "I love you." "I love you too."  
  
Hermione locked herself in her dorm for a week, crying. She didn't have her best friends and hence felt as if a part of her had been ripped out. But somehow Draco managed to find a way into her dorm, and he coaxed her out of her room.  
  
And she had never been happier. Her and Draco's relationship was now out in the open, and gradually they were accepted by the majority. First by the staff, and then by Pansy ("I knew it") and Ginny. Many of the Gryffindors refused to acknowledge her presence. But she was glad that those who accepted her did so completely. Slytherins worshipped Draco and tolerated Hermione's presence. Everyone else learned to accept it (which for some meant to completely ignore it). But Harry and Ron still wanted nothing to do with her. And gradually she came to terms with the loss of her best friends. And with Draco she had never been happier.  
  
One April day Hermione stood by the lake looking at the title of an old issue of the Daily Prophet, headline: "Potter Losses Best Friend to Son of Death Eater!" Hermione snorted. A pair of strong arms snuck around her waist and her backside was pulled against a broad chest. Draco kissed the side of her neck. "What are you reading?" "Old Daily Prophet issue. The damn article makes it sound like a bloody war. A bit overdramatic if I do say so." "I still find it incredibly funny that that story made the front page. I know he's the savior of the wizarding world or whatever, but a front page article about that? At least we get some lovely pictures of you" he said eyes scanning the article. "And a quite dazzling one of you as well."  
  
Hermione sighed contentedly and fell back into her boyfriends embrace.  
  
"The article made it seem like I lost far too much and gained too little, as if I had been in a war and lost," Hermione looked into Draco's eyes and smiled happily "May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."  
  
The End  
  
I wrote that gorram story cause I felt inspired to use that Firefly quote (yeah Firefly!). Wow. I just used gorram in a sentence! Go me! And the quote "May have been a losing side. Not convinced it was the wrong one" is from Firefly which belongs to Joss Whedon. The use of the word "wig" was inspired by "Buffy: The Vampire Slayer" so Joss could very well own that as well.  
  
A LOTR is owned by Tolkien Enterprises and JRR Tolkien. And the movie- PJ Fran Phillipa.... And stopping with the "I don't owns"  
  
I originally planned to write something very short, and it turned into this. I hope it didn't make you lose your lunch. I was just going for impressionistic things for their meeting days, and I hope it worked. It probably didn't though. That was just sugar coated and then painful in some places. Sorry to put you through that. :p  
  
This story turned out weird. Possibly.  
  
And please constructive criticism is welcome. And sorry if the characters are OOC.  
  
Please reply! And emphasis on that. I *need* criticism so that the next story (if there is one) is less painful.  
  
A brownie for all those who reply. And a bonus brownie for those who've seen and enjoyed Firefly! (hehe. Now how can you not want to reply?)  
  
Oh! A bonus brownie if you love Teenage Mutant Turtles. And another brownie if you find Dominic Monaghan wearing eyeliner to be extremely sexy. Ok. I went brownie giving happy. Stopping now. 


End file.
